The Duke and Duchess.  Lady Jean was instrumental in recruiting for the 100th (later renumbered the 92nd)

Click on the badge to read the memoirs of a private

The Birth of the Regiment

For an organisation dedicated to violence, The Gordon Highlanders enjoy a very romantic beginning.  Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon  (nicknamed Coileach an taobh tuath, or the Cock o' the North), had raised several regiments for service in Scotland during the 1780s and early 1790s.  With the growing threat of war with France, he obtained a Royal Warrant to raise a regular regiment of 1000 men in February, 1794.  Since many of the men from his own lands had joined the Gordon Fencibles just a year before, he faced serious recruiting problems.

Enter the Duchess Jean.  Known as one of the most beautiful women in the North East, she and her equally pretty daughters, all dressed in regimental jackets and feather bonnets, traveled to fairs throughout the North East offering the normal first day's pay plus the added incentive of a kiss.  One particularly fine young man had long resisted recruiters' enticements.  When the Duchess Jean came to town, he enlisted, taking the pay and the kiss... then tossing the pay to the assembled crowd to show which had really attracted his interest.  Another young man enlisted, took his kiss, then promptly 'paid smart' (a fee paid within 24 hours of enlistment which allowed a recruit out of his commitment), saying 'Never was a £1 coin so well spent!'

With the Duchess Jean's help, as well as recruiting efforts from as far away as the Hebrides, the regiment was ready for inspection in just a few months.  A General inspected the new 100th Regiment on 24 June 1794 at Aberdeen and paraded for the first time the next day; the Regiment had begun to breathe!  The next several years were spent in training and preparing for action.  A reorganisation of the army led to a renumbering, changing the regiment's number from the 100th to the now famous 92nd.  They had their baptism of fire and first Battle Honour came at Egmont op Zee (Holland, 1799), followed closely by Mandora (Egypt, 1801).  Click on the badge to the left to read an excerpt from the memoirs of a private soldier who served in both these campaigns.  In both battles, the 92nd distinguished themselves as formidable soldiers, a distinction that would be repeated over the next 200 years!

The 75th Regiment did not enjoy such a colourful beginning; indeed very little is known about it.  The Crown authorise the raising of four regiments specifically to serve in India, the 73rd-76th.  Recruiting began in the Autumn of 1787, and did not run so smoothly as the Colonel, Sir Robert Abercrombie, might have wished.  By early 1788, though still under-strength, the regiment was established and sailed immediately for Bombay.  Though many of the senior officers were immediately posted off to staff duties, leaving Captain (later Major-General) Robert Crauford in command, the men quickly acquited themselves well during the Mysore campaign (1791) and in the capture of the great fortress at Seringapatam (1792).

Battle Honours

Mysore • Seringapatam • Egmont op Zee • Mandora

The Peninsula

As noted above, the 92nd was raised out of concern for the growing French threat.  The exact chain of events is rather complicated, and for our purposes it is sufficient to know that in late 1808 a large French army began crossing the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain.

The retreat was only temporary and the 92nd was back in the Peninsula just over a year later.  Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Cameron of Fassiefern, the 92nd served through Portugal, into Span, and eventually pushing into France itself.  The Battle Honours listed below chart their progress through the Peninsula, and each of the represents a pivotal battle during the campaign.  Perhaps more telling of the 92nd's resolve was its involvement at the Pass of Maya, just after Vittoria (1813).  A small British force of about 2,600 men were posted at the pass to prevent the French from relieving Pampuluna.  For nine hours, 11,000 of Napoleon's best soldiers tried to force their way through but failed.  The Regimental history records that the advancing enemy was ultimately halted by the heaped mass of dead and dying, particularly in front of the 92nd.  The campaign was successful, and Napoleon was forced into exile on Elba.

Europe had not heard the last of him, though, and in early 1815 he returned to France, quickly regaining the power he had lost. In a dash to protect the Low Countries (Holland and Belgium), an allied army quickly assembled in Belgium and planned for a campaign against France. Napoleon, however, knew that he had to strike at the allies before they could fully assemble. He planned a northward thrust towards Brussels. In mid-June, French forces advanced northward, much earlier than the allies had expected. The British forces rushed south, and intercepted the French at Quatre Bras.

Though few today have heard of this engagement, it was the prelude to Waterloo and did much to determine the final outcome at that battle. The 92nd spent much of the day exposed to fire and lost almost half its strength, killed and wounded. One of the casualties was the beloved Col Cameron, who had led the battalion like a father for so many years. It was his influence which established a very high standard of behavior within the regiment, as well the high value placed on pipe music. Two days later at Waterloo, as the 92nd charged a French column which threatened to break the British lines, many veterans claimed to have seen Fasssiefern in the clouds above them, waving his sword and calling them on to battle. With Napoleon's final defeat and final exile to St. Helena, the great peace descended on Europe. The terrific cost of the Peninsular Wars, both financially and in terms of manpower, had drained Britain, and there followed many years of military reductions, which is the subject of the next page.

Headgear for the 75th during their service in India

Battle Honours

• Corunna • Fuentes d'Onor • Alamaraz • Vittoria • Pyrenees •
• Nive • Orthes • Peninsula • Waterloo •

C/Sgt Hector Macdonald earn his commission in Afghanistan and went on to become Major General.

An unknown group of officers, probably in India, in the late 1800s.

Detail from the London Illustrated Times' coverage of the Battle of Tel el-Kebir

Click on the badge to read
Sgt Taggart's letters

The Indian Mutiny touched a chord deep within the British psyche, and the following 50 years saw a level of military activity never before witnessed.

During the "shadows," the 92nd was less active than the 75th. For the 20 years after the Mutiny, that pattern would be reversed. The 75th spent much of its time at home or in quieter areas. The 92nd, though, took part in one of the most celebrated campaigns of their history. A concern for securing India's Northwest border, combined with a series of political faux pas, sent an expeditionary force into Afghanistan under General Roberts (later Lord Roberts of Kandahar, or simply "Bobs" to those who served under him). Having fought his way to the capital, Kabul, Roberts received word that the garrison at Kandahar was besieged. In the space of a miraculous 23 days (21 of marching, two days of halts), the force marched from Kabul to Kandahar through some of the most rugged terrain possible, in the face of dust, intense heat, and constant enemy sniping. On arriving, Maj White of the 92nd realized that the Afghans were drawing up on the British right, and if allowed to concentrate there, it would be extremely difficult to eject them. Riding up and down the Regiment within easy view from the Afghan position, he ordered his men "to write '92nd' on those guns."

It was just after the Afghan campaign that the future of both the 75th and the 92nd was dramatically altered. Since the time of the Mutiny, the senior military officers and political leaders had been tauting the "martial race" of the Highlanders. These men were perfectly suited to warfare and the British cause. It was, therefore, in their own interest to have as many of the Highland regiments as possible. In June, 1881, Horse Guards ordered the amalgamation of the 75th and 92nd. The old system of numbering was given up, and the new regiment would be known simply as The Gordon Highlanders. Since the 75th was senior to the 92nd, it became the 1st battalion and the 92nd the 2nd battalion. While this was known as an amalgamation, and the 92nd lamented the loss of their heritage, the fact is that the 75th was effectively erased and the history of the 92nd grafted in its place.

It did not take the new 1st/Gordon long to reacquaint itself with its dormant Highland roots. On 18 June, 1882, they paraded in Highland uniform for the first time since 1809; three months later, they had been baptized with the heat of Africa and the fire of the Anglo-Egyptian War. Their conduct within the Highland Brigade served as a tribute to their recovered designation. In the following years, they became masters of colonial warfare in the Sudan, and were (temporarily) turned into sailors, floating up the Nile in an effort to relieve Gen. Charles Gordon (no relation to the Regiment) in Khartoum. From Egypt, they moved on to India, where the 75th had been stationed for so long.

Their efforts in India continued to be the preservation of the Northwest Frontier. The storming of the Heights of Dargai rings out in the Regimental history as one of the finest hours. In October, 1897, the 1st/Gordon, part of the Tirah Field Force, approached the town of Dargai, situated on a rocky spur which dominated the road along which the British force had to march. The town had been cleared on the 18th, but in perhaps not the best example of military judgement, the British forces were removed from it. Two days later, the natives had re-occupied the town and it had to be again cleared. The terrain provided the natives with a wide "fire zone" which offered attackers no protection whatsoever. In turn, the Dorsetshire and Derbyshire regiments tried to rush the town, but could not cross the fire zone.

The 1st /Gordon was called for, and the Commanding Officer, Col Mathias told them, "The General says this hill must be taken at all costs. The Gordon Highlanders will take it." In 40 minutes, the battalion had crossed the fire zone and won the heights. During the charge, Piper George Findlater was shot through both ankles while in the fire zone. He propped himself up and played his pipes while exposed to murderous fire, encouraging his comrades up the hill; he was awarded the Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria herself.

The 2nd/Gordon was far from inactive during this time. With the eruption of the Boer War, they were posted to South Africa. The Boer tactics were far from the 'normal' military tactics, exposing British troops to near constant action and harassment. After initial engagements, the 2nd/Gordon moved to protect the town of Ladysmith. The Boers laid siege; when a relief force arrived three months later, they were welcomed by the sound of the 2nd Battalion's Drums & Pipes! By this time, the 1st/Gordon had been transferred to South Africa as well, and there was much celebrating on the night when, for the first time, the two battalions came together in the field. When the war was concluded, the 1st/Gordon returned to the United Kingdom, while the 2nd Battalion returned to India. Bydand Forever was fortunate to obtain several letters written by Sgt. Taggart, 2nd/Gordon, during the Defense of Ladysmith.  Click on the icon to the left to read these letters.

Battle Honours

• Charasiah • Kabul 1879 • Kandahar 1880 • Afghanistan 1878-1880 •
Tel el Kebir • Egypt 1882, 1884 • Nile 1884-1885 • Chitral
• Tirah • Defense of Ladysmith • Paardeberg  • South Africa 1899-1902 •

Victoria Crosses Major G. White (1879, 92nd) Lt (later Col) W. H. Cunyingham (1879, 92nd) Ppr G. Findlater (1897, 1st/Gordon) Pte E. Lawson (1897, 1st/Gordon) Cpt. M. Meiklejohn (1899, 2nd/Gordon) Sgt-Maj W. Robertson (1899, 2nd/Gordon) Cpt. E. Towse (1899, 1st/Gordon) Cpl J. F. Mackay (1900, 1st/Gordon) Cpt. D. R. Younger (1900, 1st/Gordon)

Gravemarker for Pte WA Adamson (died 20/3/1943) at the Allied Cemetery near the River Kwai.
Photo by Pte Andrew Kelly, Bydand Forever.

The Regiment's pipers strike up in Tunisia, 1943.

World War II

With the 1918 Armistice completed, the Regiment returned to its routine duties around the empire.  As Germany rose again against Europe, The Gordon Highlanders again answered their country's call.

As with the Great War, World War II started poorly for the Regiment.  The 1st Battalion entered France early in the war, and fell back with the army towards Dunkirk.  The 1st Battalion held at St Valery-en-Caux (1940) in an effort to buy time for the evacuation at Dunkirk.  While most of the army was able to escape, the 1st Battalion was captured and spent the rest of the war as prisoners.  The faithfulness to the Regiment at St Valery is the stuff of legends.  George McLennan (son of the great P/M. G. S. McLennan) was serving as a battalion medic; when the Officer Commanding told him to get to Dunkirk, George refused to go, preferring to go into captivity rather than abandon his wounded comrades.  The 2nd Battalion suffered a similar fate.  Stationed at the supposedly impregnable fortress of Singapore, it was captured when the city fell.

New battalions were raised, and the Highland Division (which incorporated the new 1st Btn and the 5th/7th Btn) was dispatched to North Africa just in time for El Alamein. Sprinting along the Mediterranean coast, 1st/Gordon arrived at Tripoli first. From North Africa the Division moved on to Sicily, but was then returned home to prepare for the mass invasion of Normandy. Three of the Regiment's battalions landed in France in June, 1944, and fought on through to the end of the war.  Col Martin Lindsay has written a fine history of the Regiment's march from Normandy to the Baltic in So Few Got Through, available through the Regimental Museum Shop.

Battle Honours

Withdrawal to Escaut • Ypres-Comines Canal • Dunkirk 1940 • Somme 1940
• St Valery-en-Caux • Odon • La Vie Crossing • Lower Maas • Venlo Pocket • Rhineland • Reichswald • Cleve • Goch • Rhine
• North West Europe 1940, 1944-1945 • El Alamein • Advance on Tripoli • Mareth • Medjez Plain • North Africa 1942-1943 • Landing in Sicily • Sferro
• Sicily 1943 •

Victoria Crosses Though the Regiment saw extensive action in all theatres of World War II, no individual Gordon Highlander was singled out for this highest distinction

Click on the badge to read
Soldier's memories

New Roles to Fulfill...

Following World War II, the 1st Bttn remained in Germany for some five years, while the 2nd Bttn remained in North Africa until 1948. The post-war contractions were starting to be felt, and in that year, it was decided that the Regiment should be reduced to a single battalion. A simple ceremony in a gymnasium at Esssen, Germany, marked what many felt was the final nail in the old 92nd's coffin. It could be very reasonably argued that it was actually the 75th that was laid low in 1881 and was finally laid to rest in 1948. Regardless of which view one takes, it was a difficult period of transition for the regiment.

The transition was not only emotional. The nature of the British Army was changing, as was the nature of war itself. The large scale, continental warfare gave way to more of the 19th century pattern of smaller conflicts. In 1950, the Regiment moved from Germany to Malaya and took part in anti-terrorist warfare in the jungle. They returned home briefly in 1954, when they provided the Royal Guard at Balmoral Castle, but then were dispatched to another 'hot spot,' Cyprus. With this duty completed in 1956, the Regiment returned home for several years, followed by three years in Germany (where they received armoured personnel carriers and became mechanized infantry). By now, the Regiment's anti-terrorist skills were quite good; as trouble broke out in East Africa, they shipped out to Gil Gil, Kenya, and from thence to Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, and Rhodesia.  In the photos here, members of the battalion provide an honour guard in New Dehli, India (1955/56).

With this mission completed, the Regiment settled into a regular pattern of tours in Western Europe, the Far East, and home. Please click on the badge to the left to read some of the memories from Gordons who served in the years after World War II.